Thursday, January 22, 2015

Nostalgia

So there are very few things I'm nostalgic about.  (btw, here's a definition for nostalgia, I don't think I actually learned what it meant until college... "a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.")  I am nostalgic about my granny's old house in Mississippi, my parent's house in Ft. Lauderdale, the smell of an afternoon rain coming (doesn't happen a lot in TN) to name a few.  Smell is the fastest sense to register a memory.  Before you even realize the memory bubbling up from your brain was triggered by the scent you're in it.  


Anyway, what made me think of this were my headphones.  Why?  Earwax.  Just kidding.  Over the summer (2013) Shayla borrowed my headphones all summer to use at work.  No big deal really, nothing special.  Except Shayla is a trooper and worked outdoor maintenance... in the summer... in Florida.  Naturally the headphones now smell like sunscreen and sweat.  I used to grudgingly hug her whenever she came by my door for lunch or just to say hi.  But now that I pull these headphones out of their little trendy (but handy) apple case they unlock a time capsule of memories.  I was pulling these headphones out at Starbucks, and Shayla, sitting across from me, thinks I'm studying.   But, for a few moments, I am remembering little sweaty Shayla from 18 months ago, smiling, and wanting nothing more than a hug.  Life gets busy, Spring semester is always worse than the Fall... Stop and enjoy some nostalgia from time to time and hey, give a sweaty person a hug.

Alright, back to this school junk.